Digital Archives and LGBT Oral History Internship

Posted by J Barnes-Mitchell on

Organization: Out Loud
Location: Remote
Term: Fall 2026
Dates: August 24-December 11, 2026
Time commitment: Approximately 9 hours per week; 135 hours total
Compensation: Unpaid
Academic credit: Designed for three graduate internship credits
Application deadline: Midnight, August 17, 2026 (by email)

Position Summary

Out Loud is a community archive and oral-history project documenting LGBT life in Sarasota and Florida’s Suncoast region. The intern will assist with the processing, description, and preservation of born-digital and digitized materials. Collections may include oral-history recordings, transcripts, photographs, audiovisual files, documents, and associated metadata.

Working remotely under regular supervision, the intern will apply archival standards and community-archives principles to original materials contributed by community members. The internship emphasizes ethical description, privacy, responsible stewardship, and the particular obligations involved in preserving LGBT histories.

The intern’s 135 hours will include assigned project work, training, supervisory meetings, documentation, and structured professional reflection.

Responsibilities

Depending on the intern’s experience and the needs of the collections, responsibilities may include:

  • Inventorying, organizing, naming, and describing digital files
  • Creating and reviewing archival metadata
  • Applying controlled vocabularies and local descriptive terms
  • Processing oral-history recordings, transcripts, and related documentation
  • Researching people, organizations, events, places, and historical contexts represented in the collections
  • Assessing materials for privacy, confidentiality, access, and preservation concerns under the supervisor’s direction
  • Documenting archival decisions and maintaining accurate processing records
  • Reviewing archival standards and adapting them to the practical requirements of a community archive
  • Participating in regular supervisory meetings, training, and reflective discussion
  • Contributing, when appropriate, to public programs, presentations, exhibits, or project communications
  • Completing a defined semester project or other final product agreed upon by the intern, site supervisor, and faculty supervisor

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the internship, the intern should be able to:

  • Apply foundational digital archival processing and description practices
  • Create consistent metadata using appropriate standards and controlled vocabularies
  • Document preservation actions and archival decisions
  • Identify privacy, access, and ethical issues in LGBT community collections
  • Explain how community archives may differ from institutional or governmental repositories
  • Evaluate archival practices in relation to community accountability, cultural sensitivity, and donor intent
  • Communicate archival work to professional and public audiences
  • Assess their developing professional practice through supervised reflection

Supervision and Schedule

The internship will be completed remotely. The intern and site supervisor will establish a consistent weekly schedule that includes independent project work along with training/instruction and regular meetings. The intern must attend all weekly meetings, communicate reliably, maintain documentation of completed hours and activities, and notify the supervisor promptly of scheduling or technical problems.

The position requires sustained keyboard work, detailed review of digital records, and regular use of Google Workspace and approved media-management software. The intern must have access to a suitable computer and dependable internet service. Out Loud will establish all software, storage, account-access, and information-security requirements before work begins.

Because the collections may contain personal, confidential, or emotionally difficult material, the intern must follow all privacy, access, and information-security procedures. The site supervisor will provide guidance and will not expect the intern to make sensitive access or restriction decisions independently.

Required Qualifications

  • Current enrollment in the master’s program at the Florida State University School of Information
  • Eligibility to register for the appropriate internship course
  • Strong written communication skills
  • Careful attention to language, detail, consistency, and historical context
  • Ability to perform accurate and sustained data entry
  • Ability to manage time and complete remote work with regular supervision
  • Respectful and ethical engagement with LGBT people, histories, and community-held materials
  • Willingness to maintain confidentiality and follow established privacy and information-security procedures

Preferred Qualifications

  • Completion of at least one semester of graduate study
  • Coursework or experience in archives, digital preservation, metadata, oral history, public history, or a related area
  • Familiarity with Google Workspace and digital media files
  • Interest in community archives and LGBT history
  • Experience working with historically marginalized communities
  • Research, outreach, public-programming, audiovisual, technical, or project-management experience relevant to the archive
  • Knowledge arising from education, employment, community involvement, or sustained personal study that could benefit the project

Application Process

Applicants should submit:

  • A résumé or curriculum vitae
  • A list of all relevant graduate-level coursework (include coursework completed outside a finished degree program, if relevant)
  • A brief statement describing their interest in the internship
  • A short explanation of relevant experience or subject expertise they would bring to Out Loud

The application deadline is August 17, 2026. Selected applicants will be invited to participate in a video discussion with the founder.

Application materials should be emailed as PDF attachments to dpwilliford@gmail.com addressed to Dr. Daniel Williford, PhD, MLIS, Research and Instruction Librarian, Alfred R. Goldstein Library, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida.

Feel free to email with any questions prior to submitting: dpwilliford@gmail.com

Future Terms

Out Loud expects to offer the internship again during the Spring and Summer 2027 semesters. Students who are unavailable for Fall 2026 may contact the site supervisor to express interest in a later term. Paid work may become available in the future, but such opportunities are not guaranteed.